The United Kingdom Parliament and European Union Legislation

This text analyses the role of the United Kingdom Parliament in the law-making procedures of the European Union. The work is divided into three parts. Part One considers the constitutional position of the UK Parliament in the European Union and examines the formal and informal relationship between Parliament and the European Institutions and their effect upon the legislative process. Part Two focuses on the House of Commons scrutiny of European Community legislative proposals. It examines the work of the Select Committees on European Legislation, the two European Standing Committees and the Departmental Select Committees. A particular point of focus is their primary task of influencing the minister before he or she gives final agreement to a legislative proposal in the Council of Ministers. This section concludes with an analysis of how developments ""post-Maastricht"" have affected the scrutiny process. Particular attention is paid to the co-decision legislative procedure and its impact on scrutiny.;Part Three focuses on the arrangements in the House of Lords for scrutiny of European decision making. The two core chapters examine and evaluate the Select Committee on the European Communities and the five subject-related Sub-Committees. Where relevant, comparative analysis with procedures in the Commons is drawn. Developments ""post-Maastricht"" are also considered by inquiring into the scrutiny arrangements for legislation proposed under the Inter-Governmental Pillars - the political co-operation forum within the European Union. Part Three concludes with an appraisal of proposals for reforming the House of Lords and its potential impact on scrutiny. Part Four evaluates the evidence and proposes detailed reforms to the scrutiny process. The final paragraphs focus specifically on the outcome of the 1996-1997 Inter-Governmental Conference, whose agenda includes the roles of national parliaments in the European Union. Within this context, the prospects for, and likely future developments in, the scrutiny process are considered.

Part I: The United Kingdom and the European Community. The Legislative Process of the European Community. The Relationship Between the United Kingdom Parliament and the Institutions of the European Union. Part II: The House of Commons. The Work of the Select Committee on European Legislation. Debating European Legislative Proposals in the European Standing Committees and on the Floor of the House. Departmentally Related Select Committees in the House of Commons and European Affairs. The Scrutiny of European Legislation by the House of Commons after Maastricht. Part III: The House of Lords. The House of Lords and the European Union. The Work of the Select Committee on the European Communities. The Work of the Sub-Committees in the House of Lords. Arrangements in the House of Lords for Scrutiny of the Inter-Governmental Pillars. The Scrutiny of European Legislation by a Reformed Second Chamber - Some Views and Evaluations of a Reformed House of Lords. Part IV: Are the Scrutiny Arrangements Effective? Conclusions and Evaluations. Appendices: List of Witnesses. Structure of the European Union. The Working Methods of the Select Committee on the European Communities.